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Side chair collected from a Czech family in the Manitowoc area, probably second half of the nineteenth century.

Object name

Chair

Alternate object name

Side chair

Date

ca. 1850-1900

Dimensions

39 1/2"H x 17 3/4"W x 18 1/2"D

Materials and techniques

Painted wood

Location of use

probably Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Current location

Eagle, Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Description

Side chair with tablet-top crest. Four spindles are shaped with a draw knife and inserted into a single carved block. The steeply angled stiles are screwed into the back of the crest and inserted into the seat. Seat is formed from three 1-inch thick boards, slightly curved. Unusually shaped front stretcher is carved from a single block of wood. Round legs taper at top and bottom. The worn red finish may be original. Located in the bedroom of the Sisel House, Old World Wisconsin.

History

According to Old World Wisconsin records, the chair was purchased from antiques dealer Jim Babcock in 1991. In 2010, Babcock recalled that the chair passed through several antiques dealers before coming to Old World Wisconsin, but was initially collected from the home of a "Bohemian" (Czech) family in the Manitowoc area. According to census records, Manitowoc County was home to the largest number of Czech-speaking settlers in Wisconsin in the 1860s and 1870s.